1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to communication systems and more particularly, to a method and system for allowing telephone users to cause multiple phone lines to ring when a calling party dials a single primary contact number thereby eliminating the need for providing multiple contact numbers to third parties.
2. Related Art
The history of modern-day communications technology can be said to have started when Samuel Morse invented the wire line telegraph in 1832. However, it was Alexander Graham Bell's invention of the telephone, in 1874, that led to the development of our present day communications technology. Morse had simply created a way for humans to extend their ability to transfer information—instantly—over great distances. Bell gave us the ability to have the most intimate form of communication over distances—the use of our voices. As readily apparent, the invention of the telephone has dramatically changed the manner in which people communicate with one another and most people have telephones located at various access points or locations at any given time and are responsible for knowing or having access to various contact numbers associated with them.
The concept of the telephone instrument, as well as the system that allows it to work, was initially so strong that most communication technology developed during the past 125 years supports an efficient voice communication network. It wasn't until 2004 that major telecommunication carriers announced the need to develop, and support, a network designed for the purpose of transporting digital data. From 1874 to 1980, communication networks around the world were constructed to facilitate the efficient and economical transmission of voice conversations. Multiplexing and digital transmission systems were developed to “cram” more voice conversations into the existing copper wire communication facilities.
The Internet, first developed in 1973 as a project for the U.S. Department of Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA), initiated a profound change in the future development of communication networks and technologies. Originally called the Arpanet, linking several Universities and research laboratories, it evolved into the world wide web (“WWW”). During this period, there were a number of significant technology advances and government enforced corporate reorganizations that helped to change the direction of communication systems development. Computing and communications technologies were provided a big boost by the invention of the integrated circuit (IC) in 1959. The IC permitted development and manufacture of smaller and more automated communication devices at a very low cost. The Carterphone Decision, by the U.S. Supreme Court, in 1968, made it possible for the connection of non-telephone company owned devices (until this point, only devices owned and operated by the telephone companies were permitted). In the 1970s, fiber strands were first used as a communication medium. In 1983, the U.S. Supreme Court mandated reorganization of AT&T was enforced.
New inventions coupled with increasing business and consumer demand for computer and data communication services forced a change in, the nature of the development of communications networks. By 1995, most installation of communications networks was devoted to the efficient transmission of data generated by computers. However, these networks were still based on a voice communication design. The development and introduction of broadband data communications standards (“IEEE 802 Series”) helped to create a demand for communication networks designed to support data communications. By 2003, wireless (cellular telephone) networks were available to almost every location of the United States (remote wilderness areas still lack coverage). According to the Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association (CTIA), in 2003 there were more than 148 million wireless subscribers, and 92% were using digital service.
As communication technology continues to move forward and various types of devices become available that are capable of allowing people to communicate with one another, the amount of contact numbers associated with individuals will continue to grow dramatically. It is not uncommon for any given person to have four or five different contact numbers associated with them at any given time. For example, it is not uncommon for a single person to have a home phone number, a work phone number, a wireless terminal phone number, and a facsimile number. As a result, it is increasingly difficult to get in contact with any given individual because the calling party may not know exactly where the person they are trying to reach is located. Further, the calling party may only know one phone number for the individual they are trying to reach.
As a result of the aforementioned problems, a need exists for a communication encapsulation system that will work in conjunction with a wide variety of communication devices and systems to allow a single person to have one primary contact number instead of multiple contact numbers.